Gone
by Hina Kariachi Hakubi
Summary: I woke up again this morning, and wouldn't you know it, pouring rain [Levinstar]


Huh, for once I actually _wrote down_ an idea inspired by eHell. Damn.

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The Tennysons didn't approve. Not that anyone had expected them to what with the history and with Michael being a, quote Gwen, 'manipulative, using bastard'. The disapproval was expected, as were the cries of 'have you lost your mind' and 'he glamoured you, or whatever it is he does, didn't he'. No one had expected the passive-aggression.

Gwen wasn't as much a problem; she still lived a good day's drive away, had no car, and was up to her butt in schoolwork; and Kevin did his level best to keep Ben from having to be around the vampire at all. But sometimes it didn't work, the hero would come to the apartment unannounced (damn Kevin for giving him that key…), or they would meet on the street, or unavoidable things like that. And then there were glares, grumblings about Kevin's poor taste, smart-mouthed comments about if Mike was going to be nice enough to _warn_ them before he backstabbed them this time, eye rolls, things of that nature.

This wasn't the sort of matter the mutant could let stand, as far as he was concerned Ben was beneath him, his actions and words a low-class insult. He had been putting too much work into becoming, if not _good_ at least something that could stay out of prison and in Kevin's home, to listen to the small teen. So he'd retaliated with condescending grins, thinly veiled insults, sneers, smirks, and verbal jabs of his own. It had become all out war between them, Ben acting out of worry and fear for his pseudo-sibling, Mike out of insult. Simply having them on the same side of a street was to welcome an ocean of tension. Cooper had finally simply refused to deal with either of them if there was even the slightest chance of meeting the other.

Kevin had gotten tired of it.

After about three months he'd sat the blond down and gotten right to the matter; he wanted him to take the high ground, stop responding to Ben's behavior. Of course Morningstar had had a problem with this, after all why was Kevin coming to _him_ about this when Ben was starting it? He would be perfectly happy to pretend the boy wasn't even there; it would be a better power play; but no, he wasn't going to be insulted by someone so far under his level.

"I'll handle him," Kevin had said, "don't you worry about it." His statement hadn't been taken so well. The Tennysons were his major weak spot, he'd follow them into a volcano if it came down to it, and Michael had been quick to point this out. All right, he called him their lapdog, but really it was true. There was no reason for him to get snappish about it. But things had degenerated from there. From Kevin being called a lapdog to calling Michael an asshole and down, down, down. Soon they had been standing in the kitchen, glaring, growling, fists clenched, ready for a throwdown.

And he was gone.

Instead of yelling, instead of throwing a punch, instead of spending his time, Kevin had whistled for the dog and walked away. Just like that and he was out the door. It was unprecedented. They always fought, and it had ended the same the whole time they were together. Argue, then fight, and by the time they were both bleeding _then_ they were ready to walk away. Both of them got to let off steam and by the time they went to bed things were, if not better, calmer. Always by bedtime.

It had been three days.

Mike was, if he were honest, worried. Three days and he'd heard nothing from the other man. He'd called Cooper, no help there, called Eliza, she hadn't heard from her son either. He didn't have Rook's number and sure as hell he wasn't going to call the Tennysons.

He tried to tell himself that this was normal, after all Kevin often fell out of touch with people when he was away. Sure all those times he'd told people he'd be gone, given them a rough time frame and said where-about he'd be, but that didn't change anything. Yeah, everything was fine.

But he'd taken Zed, and his car. Everything else that really mattered to him was in storage, with only Cooper holding the other key; there wasn't anything of Kevin's left at the apartment that mattered at all. Plus, between a sharp mind for finance and the fact he'd never really gotten away from the black market, he could just buy whatever he needed to replace. There wouldn't be any need for him to…

No. Levin was too stubborn, had put in too much work and time. It had been about two years since they'd first made tenuous peace, and nearly a year that they had been something resembling an item. All that time spent setting boundaries, making bonds, showing tricks. Years acting as mentor, idol, friend, lover; Kevin wouldn't. He was too emotional, too sentimental, too weak to just let go and leave him.

Right?

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TL;DR: Mike's an egotistical ass, Ben doesn't trust him, and Kevin is tired of their shit. Mike couldn't just go 'yes, love', and now he may well be screwed.

For those that don't know, the summary is the first lines from Darius Rucker's "Come Back Song". If country doesn't make your ears bleed look him up.

As usual, please review, critique, and if you have any interest in Levinstar (btw, thank you Colleen for the name) feel free to write some. Or draw some. Or tell us how awesome it is. Something. Please. We're so alone.


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